The Bat Family
by TCRiggs
Summary: After being missing and separated form his family Batman returns and tries to recover physically and mentally from the experience and reconnect with his family while forces from the past seek to destroy them.
1. Chapter 1

The Bat Family

Chapter I

Forty year old Bruce Wayne reclined in the sunroom of his mansion trying to do the one thing that he found impossible to do all his life. Relax. Ever since Bruce was a small child he always needed to be doing something. It did not matter if it was reading about warfare tactics, learning about the inner workings of computers, or pushing his body to its limits in order to discover new limits it did not matter. He just needed to be active, he was never one to lounge around and do nothing. He was not even sure that he relaxed when he was in the womb. He was the son of Thomas and Martha Wayne; it was not in his DNA to be lazy.

But he had no choice. He had promised Alfred that he would take it easy, try to recover physically and mentally from the events of the past two months. Allow his body and mind to rest.

Bruce let out sigh as he thought how doing nothing was actually harder for him than fighting the Joker or the Scarecrow. All he could do was think about all the things that needed to be done. A serial killer was loose in Chinatown claiming to be the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper. The Watchtower's defenses needed to be updated and he was still working on the mystery of a vicious vigilante calling himself the Tallyman. He hoped that if he could learn the truth of the second Tallyman's past he could defeat this new foe.

And that was just his responsibilities as Batman. There was also Wayne Enterprises and its thousands of employees who depended on him for their jobs. He had just received a report that Kane charities was missing two hundred thousand dollars, and he had been asked to chair the committee for the Gotham Symphony Orchestra.

There was so much he needed to get done and he was just lying in the sunroom like a sloth.

Bruce then let out a small chuckle when he realized that until this moment he did not even know that he had a sunroom. It was a small room on the second floor overlooking the gardens. He never had a reason to venture to this part of the mansion and would have never known it existed if Alfred had not told him that he should relax there.

He wondered why Alfred picked this room. With so many rooms to choose from this small Spartan room that had not been decorated since the seventies was the one he chooses. The room was bereft of any of the modern conveniences of the twenty first century. There was no computer, no television, no telephone, not even a radio.

Bruce could not help but laugh as at that moment he realized why Alfred considered it was the perfect room. Nothing to distract him, there would be no news reports, no calls from the Justice League or the Outsiders to tell him of some emergency in a remote part of the world. No way for the mayor or Commissioner Gordon to get in touch with him.

The Falcone and Maroni crime families could be having an all out war in the middle of Gotham and he would not know it.

He was isolated, cut off from the world outside.

And he hated it.

He was tempted for a moment to get up and go back to his room. He could rest there just as easily. Or course if he did Alfred would pounce on him, and he probably would get the boys to help gang up on him. He probably even had Selina on speed dial to get on him if he did not behave himself.

They would not give him any peace until he relaxed for a couple of hours.

Bruce let out a soft sigh as he said "Okay Bruce you can do this."

Bruce closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. Just do not think about anything he ordered himself. There is no Batman, no Justice League, no Wayne Enterprises, and no Kane Foundation.

His eyes flew opened as he the thought of the Kane Foundation caused him to remember the missing money. How could two hundred thousand dollars just go missing he wondered. The head of the foundation assured him that it was just an accounting mistake and that he would take care of it.

Maybe I should pay the foundation a visit. My grandfather Hiram Kane would want me to be sure it was being run correctly and nothing underhanded was going on. Maybe my imposing presence could help the CEO Richard Wolf find the money.

He was about to get up when he remembered that Alfred had contacted Ngyma Detective Agency for him and he agreed to investigate the matter. Alfred told him that Edward Ngyma was quite excited for the opportunity and thanked him for placing their trust in him. Bruce could not help but shake his head at the thought of contracting the Riddler to investigate the Kane Foundation.

For fifteen years the Riddler had not only been an enemy of Batman's but also a thorn in Bruce Wayne's side He had tried to kill him on several occasions, sabotage Wayne Enterprises, and he tried to kill James Gordon at least twice. But five years ago Edward had emerged from Arkham Asylum claiming to be a changed man. He approached Batman claiming that he wanted to be his ally and help the police. He even apologized to Bruce for all the times he tried to kill him.

He was wary at first but decided to trust him and so far he has not regretted his trust.

Bruce thought maybe someday the Joker will undergo the same conversion as Riddler and become a force for good.

Yeah not very likely Bruce thought skeptically. There would be a greater chance of Lex Luthor donating all his money to feed the poor than the Joker turning from his murderous, psychotic ways.

Bruce closed his eyes again telling himself not to worry about the Kane Foundation. Edward could take care of it; he could trust him to find out what was going on.

A few minutes passed and Bruce felt himself beginning to relax. He could feel the sunlight filling the room, its warmth wrapping itself around him like a blanket. He began to breathe slowly and his mind began to drift to sixty days ago.

Once again he was on the Watchtower studying the alien device that was discovered on Titan. He was analyzing the device's composition when he was enveloped by a white light, it felt as if he was swimming underwater desperately trying to get to the surface before his lungs exploded.

One moment he was on the Watchtower and the next he was standing before the remains of a destroyed Wayne Mansion facing an insane version of himself. The crazed Bruce had lunged at him his hands going for his throat when Batman felt the light surrounding him again. He watched as his other self howled in protest as he was swept away from that world.

The next moment he was back on the Watchtower where he collapsed onto the floor. He called out for help and then felt a hand touch his shoulder. An all too familiar voice told him that everything was going to be okay. He looked into the concerned eyes of another version of himself. A version that wore a light blue bat suit instead of the black one he favored.

He soon learned that he had become unstuck not in time but unstuck from reality itself. He was drifting from universe to universe with no control where he was going or how long he would remain.

During his time he had visited hundreds upon hundreds of universes meeting different versions of himself and the people he knew. He visited one universe where instead of sending one child; Krypton sent fifty of its children to the safety of Earth. And yet another reality in which Ka-el never came to Earth and the world was controlled by Ultraman and his Injustice Squad. Then there was the world where instead of landing in Kansas young Ka-el crashed in the Soviet Union and became the villain called the Red Son. In that world the Soviet Union never fell and soon conquered the rest of the world.

He found realities in which he was never born, where his parents married other people, and he met a woman named Bonnie Wayne who was the hero known as Foxgirl. He visited a world in which his parents were not killed by Joe Chill, a disturbing world in which he was killed by Joe Chill causing his father to become the hero called the Bat and his mother to suffer a nervous breakdown and became that world's version of the Joker.

Bruce felt a tear roll down his cheek at the reunions he had on these worlds. His mother tightly embraced him on several worlds giving him a kiss on the cheek telling him that she loved him. His father told him that he was proud of the man he had become and that he knew his own father would be. He was reunited with several versions of Rachel Dawes again, his only cousin on his mother's side he lost to cancer so many years ago, and even his grandparents. And worlds in which Harvey Dent was still his friend and ally.

There were worlds in which Dick Grayson's parents were not killed by Two-Face or where he died with his parents. Bruce witnessed Dick's graduation from the police academy on one world and another where Dick was sidekick to the hero Skyman.

So many worlds and yet he could not find the one that mattered the most to him. He worried what was happening to his sons while he was gone. He knew Alfred would try his best to take care of them but he needed to be with them, he could not leave them alone to the face the world.

Finally he reached a world completely different from the one he knew, a world that only existed in comic books and movies. Fortunately the denizens had experience working with alternate realities and the brilliant scientist of this world was able to find the universe that matched his quantum signature.

He placed Bruce in a quantum entanglement device which once again anchored him to the reality around and would stop him from shunted from world to world. He spent hours in the chamber hoping that device could help him, scared that the moment he would step out the white light would return and sweep him away again.

When he spoke to the scientist he told him that in his world he was a comic book character. He saw a smile cross the face of Doctor Reed Richards and he informed him that on his world Bruce Wayne aka Batman was a comic book character who spawned several popular shows and movies.

He was tempted to ask Richards if he could see one of the movies but decided that he did not want to witness the fictional portrayal of his parent's murder. Seeing it happen in real life was enough for him. Instead he watched a movie about his friend Hal Jordan. Though he felt that Ryan Reynolds was a competent actor on Richard's world and his own he did not feel that the movie did his friend justice.

They had discussed the possibility of there being worlds where they were both fictional characters. Or even worlds where they both existed as heroes. Perhaps Reed Richards a.k.a. Mister Fantastic was a member of the Justice League in several realities. Or their families fought side by side against whatever threats those worlds had.

They both shuddered at the thought of a universe in which the Joker and Doctor Doom existed but there was no Batman or Mister Fantastic to protect the helpless people of that world.

Bruce was returned to Wayne Manor where he collapsed in front of his younger two sons. He awoke two days later and found that he had been missing for sixty two days.

That was four days ago and he was still trying to recover from the experience. Part of him feared that he was on the wrong world, that another Bruce Wayne would appear and demand him to leave. He kept looking for things to prove to him that he was on the right world. He felt his chest tighten at the thought that this was not his world and his sons were on some other world without him, unprotected from the threats seeking to destroy them.

Bruce pushed the thoughts away chiding himself for allowing his fear and doubt to torment him. And he was just as talented at tormenting himself as he was at tormenting criminals. Actually he was probably much better at it. This was his world, his family, and his home and he needed to stop worrying.

Bruce let out a hard sigh. "This is not working." He said as he sat up. "I can't shut my mind down for more than five minutes." Frustration was in his voice as he spoke.

He listened to the house and realized what was making him uncomfortable. It was too quiet. He lived with four boys between the ages of thirteen to twenty one and silence only meant one thing. His boys were either getting themselves into trouble or about to get themselves into trouble.

Bruce ran his fingers through his black hair and told himself that he needed to go check on them.


	2. Chapter 2

Bat Family Chapter II

As Bruce got up from the orange couch that he was resting on he could feel a wave of fatigue overcome him. Days of being shifted from reality to reality had taken their toll on his body. His strength had been drained from him and there were times that he could barely stand. He was tempted to lie back down but he forced himself towards the door.

As he opened the door he half expected to see Alfred on the other side with a disapproving scowl telling him to return to the couch and not to exert himself. Instead he found an empty hallway much to his relief.

Not entirely empty he thought as he walked into the hallway a sense of unease went through him. The hallway was lined with three foot tall grey gargoyle statues that stood on two foot tall pedestals. Their twisted faces snarled at him and he was certain that at any moment they would come to life and start attacking him.

He never thought it was possible but he actually found something that scared him more than bats. He was certain that if he had found this hall as a child he would be fighting crime as the Gargoyle instead of the Batman.

An idea for a new costume identity formed in his mind if the need arose.

He looked at the hall and wondered what was the in the other rooms. He walked across the hall as he eyed the statues standing guard on either side of the door. He opened it to find a young boy's room much to his surprise. He looked around the room confused wondering whose room this was until he saw the picture of his father sitting on a night stand.

He felt a wave of emotion hit him as he slowly walked over to the nightstand and picked up the picture. He wiped off the dust that had collected on the frame and looked at his father's smiling face. He had to be about seven or eight in the photo, the right age for a child who would live in this room.

The room was filled with old toys and the walls were decorated by drawings that his father had made. He had forgotten that his father was a talented artist even at a young age. He also saw framed report cards hanging on the wall.

He looked around the room and realized what it was. It was a shrine to his father's childhood. He remembered his father saying that his grandmother never threw anything away. He always said that she kept every scrap of his childhood. Bruce never imagined that she dedicated an entire room to one small portion of his life.

A suspicion formed in his mind as he forced himself from the bed and made his way to the room next door. Instead of discovering a young child's room he found a room belonging to a young teenage boy. He smiled as he looked on the wall and saw a poster for the movie the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. His father did love westerns. There was another picture of his father at the house they owned in the Hamptons. He picked up the photo and smiled as he looked at it.

So many memories filled his mind at the moment. He always looked forward going to the Hamptons house with his parents. He wished that he could be with them again, have his parents hold his hands as they walked down the beach. Hear their voices again.

Bruce wiped a tear that ran down his cheek as he tried to figure out how long it had been since he had been to the Hamptons. It had been years the last time he had taken Dick there when he was a small boy a couple of years before Jason came into their lives. Though it was not to relax or to walk down the beach holding his son's hand, he had received word that the Toyman was seen in the area and they went there to stop him.

I should have taken him there more he thought. I should have let him just be a kid for a couple of days and not worry about fighting criminals or stopping alien invasions. I think Jason would have really liked it too.

Bruce wondered if the other rooms were immortalized to other times of his father's life. Excitement filled him at the thought of rooms filled with his father stuff.

I could spend days going through these rooms he thought learning about my father, getting to know him just a little bit better.

Well played Alfred he mused well played.

Now is not the time he thought. There was so much he needed to do; he could not allow himself to get distracted. He placed the picture of his father back on the nightstand and then rose to his feet.

Later I will come back and look at these rooms dad he thought. I promise. But not now.

Bruce went to walk out of the room when he quickly turned and retrieved the picture of his father from the nightstand. He thought that his son Damian may enjoy seeing a picture of his grandfather.

He walked to the end of the hall and stopped and turned as an uneasy feeling began to fill him. A chill went up his spine as he looked down the hall. It felt like someone was in the hallway with him, watching him. Alarms went off in his mind telling him that there was danger nearby but there was no one there.

He brushed off the feeling telling him that fatigue was making him paranoid. He walked off the hallway and descended the stairway to the main part of the house to find his boys.


End file.
